Boathouse Restaurant Daylesford — Restaurant in Victoria

Review: Disappointing Experience Masked as "Fine Dining"

I recently dined at this restaurant with my partner, and unfortunately, the experience left us more confused than satisfied.

Upon arrival, we were seated promptly but asked politely if we could move to a nearby table for four by the window. We wanted to enjoy the view and sit next to each other. We were abruptly told it was against “policy” to seat two people at a table for four due to upcoming bookings and because it was supposedly a “fine dining” establishment. We’ve been to many actual fine dining venues — this was not one of them. The tone felt unnecessarily rigid and dismissive. We stayed where we were to avoid a scene, but it was awkward and embarrassing.

To make matters worse, during our entire visit, only six other people came in, and several tables remained empty. So much for the bookings.

As for the food:

My partner ordered the lamb rack, which was meant to be tender and fall off the bone. Instead, it was undercooked and raw in the center — not acceptable at any level of dining.

I had the barramundi with curried sauce and rice. The salmon itself was beautifully cooked with a perfect crispy skin. However, the portion was tiny — easily the smallest piece of barramundi I’ve ever been served. The rice was filled with peas that clashed with the curry flavour, and the plate featured a giant, swamp-like bok choy (or something similar) that was unwieldy and unappetizing. A simpler, better-composed dish — say, turmeric cous cous and asparagus — would’ve made far more sense.

To cap off the evening, when we went to leave, the front door was literally blocked by a red rope. Someone had to come open it for us after we paid — perhaps that was their definition of “fine dining”? I’m still unsure.

In the end, it was a confusing and disappointing experience. Whether it's due to a chef lacking taste or an owner too focused on control, something here is definitely off. Sadly, you’ve lost two customers — and potentially more — who genuinely wanted to enjoy their evening and left...

OK, where to start, this was the first time I've visited Daylesford. We saw the Boathouse by the lake and thought we would try it as it had a nice deck right on the water with a beautiful view. We were seated right by the water, place was semi busy, nice day, all was fine so far.

We were given a drinks and food menu and then they just didn't return! It had been almost 20 minutes, I tried to signal to one of the waitresses but no response. Finally I got the attention of a young girl and asked if she could take my order. Her response was, yes, someone will soon and just left. Eventually, 10 minutes later, the original lady who seated us came and took our drinks and food order. We waited and waited and 20 minutes went by and our drinks never came. Then not long after and out came our meals. I asked about the drinks and her reply was sorry, they should of came, I gave the bar your order. She came back 5-10 minutes later with the drinks and told me that she had the order still in her pocket all along.

The menu was quite unusual and limited and seemed pricey. I ordered the Chicken which was about $28 and my partner the duck which was about $32. Both dishes were terrible! I had 2 very little pieces of chicken, which tasted like it was a frozen from the supermarket. For $28, I would of expected at least half a chicken and of better quality. My partner's duck was tasteless and also tasted of poor quality and there was hardly any of it. Waiting for the toilet, a lady waiting with me said she had to take her son's fish back it was that bad and she waited over 30 minutes for a coffee.

I'm not sure if they were just having a bad day but the food is not worth the high price just because you are sitting on the water with a view. I feel this place relies on tourists and I would think not many, if any, locals actually eat here. I cannot recommend eating here and I think judging by the business in the main street, you would be better off trying...

@boathouse_daylesford 📍Daylesford

🍊 Almond and Orange Cake 🥩 Steak Tartare 🍣 Ocean Trout 🐟 Barramundi, Basil Pea Risotto 🥩 Eye Fillet 🍮 Vanilla Bean Brûlée

The Boathouse is a Modern Australian restaurant located on the banks of Lake Daylesford, about an hours drive from Melbourne. It is owned and run by a humble husband and wife team with plenty of experience under their belt. 🛶

The menu is 2 ($69pp, lunch only) or 3 ($89pp) courses and you can select the dishes. For dessert we wished there was at least one savoury option as one of us wasn’t a sweet tooth. Everything you eat is made in house from local produce and the portions are big so you won’t leave hungry!

The Amaretto Sour and the Negroni cocktails were both perfect. For starters the Beef Tartare was well seasoned and the Ocean Trout was very fresh. For mains, the Steak had a great sear and although it was slightly over cooked it was still so tender. The Fish also had a crispy skin, super moist and on a bed of creamy pesto-like risotto. 🐟

The desserts were especially stunning, we were impressed. The Creme Brûlée cracked as it should, wasn’t overly sweet and even came with a side of biscotti, meringue, brownie, macaron and fruit! The Almond Orange Cake was so moist and perfectly balance with the salted caramel sauce. 🍰

The music is a little too classical for my taste but it was relaxing and very sophisticated. The location and fitout is beautiful, there is a fireplace to keep everyone warm in the winter months. Very happy with our lunch here and would return to...